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Ukraine's opposition leaders signed an EU-mediated peace deal with President Viktor Yanukovich on Friday, aiming to resolve a political crisis in which dozens have been killed and opening the way for an early presidential election this year.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, one of the EU mediators, said the deal provided for a presidential election this year, although no date had been set.

Another of the European Union facilitators, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, described the agreement as a "good compromise for Ukraine".

With Ukraine caught in a geopolitical tug-of-war between Russia and the West, at least 77 people have been killed this week in the worst violence since the independent country emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991 .

It was unclear whether Moscow would continue paying out a promised $15 billion in aid which Putin promised after Yanukovich turned his back on a far-reaching economic deal with the EU in November.

After the Kiev accord, Ashton said a decision on the future of sanctions would depend on what the EU foreign ministers on the ground in Ukraine reported.